Research Papers

1. Research Papers • Why do people write research papers? • Why do I need to learn to write a research paper?

2. Research Papers • People write research papers to further the study of a particular topic. For example, in science, a scientist might write a research paper on the effects of feeding mice genetically engineered corn. Someone studying the effects of feeding humans genetically engineered corn would most certainly be interested in the research paper on mice.

3. Research Papers • Another example would be an English professor researching and writing about how Jonathan Swift was influenced by the political climate in England during the 1700’s. This professor would read historical papers, political science papers, other literature papers along with Swift’s writings to develop a point in which he or she would prove in the research paper. This paper would be of interest to anyone studying Jonathan Swift.

4. Research Papers • Another reason people write research papers is to help another person working in a field. For example, many of your teachers read research papers to find the best way to do things. For example, a teacher might read about how to help students develop better listening skills, improve reading comprehension, or feel better about going to school.

5. Research Papers • At this point, you may be thinking…Well, that is great for adults. But I am just a kid. Why would I want to concern myself with writing a research paper? I don’t have anything to contribute to a field of study! Plus, it just all seems so confusing to me.

6. Research Papers • There are several reasons that students benefit from writing research papers. • 1. You will learn to avoid plagiarism. I will expand on this more later, but if you plagiarize in college, you can get kicked out. The sooner you learn how to write without plagiarizing, the better.

7. Research Papers • 2. Writing research papers will help you learn a lot about a topic. You will spend time reading what other people think or have discovered about whatever topic you are studying. You will take this information and put it in a paper. Not only will this help you improve your comprehension of a topic, you will be less likely to forget what you have comprehended.

8. Research Papers • 3. You will also improve your overall writing skills. Because you will have to back your point up with facts, you will especially develop your persuasive writing ability. Writing skills are becoming increasingly recognized as important. You have to demonstrate your writing ability on tests like the ISAT (jr. high), Prairie State Exam (high school), Writing Competency Test (college), GRE (graduate school), MCAT (medical school)…the list goes on and on!

9. Research Papers • 4. If your paper is selected for the internet, other students will be reading your paper. Just like a scientist would be interested in another scientist’s research—other students will be interested in your research!

10. Research Papers • 5. Learning how to write a research paper isn’t easy. But, it is better to have someone teach it to you in a step-by-step process, than have to figure it out for yourself. Most likely, you will be writing research papers in high school, and most certainly you will be writing them in college. If you understand the basic concepts now, that will be one less thing you will have to worry about.

11. Research Papers • As if the other four reasons aren’t reasons enough… • 6. You want to get a good grade in language arts!